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But actually. For all the complaining I did in my last review, Interstellar about having no people of color, Big Hero 6 had people from all walks of life and it was simply so refreshing.

To be fair, they did race-life many of the characters from the original story to make them be this diverse team, which is another issue in itself. But to see a team of kids (well, young adults if we’re being honest and one kid) working together to save the world who are not all printer paper white made me so happy I almost cried.

Big Hero 6 focuses on Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter), a 14 year old robotics genius who wastes his time away in back alley, illegal robot fights in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo. When his older brother, Tadashi (Daniel Henney), pulls him out of a fight and shows him his tech lab at his college, Hiro gets to not only meet his fellow classmates and Tadashi’s current project, Baymax (Scott Adsit), but also the influential Professor Callaghan (James Cromwell). This gives Hiro the push to stop robot fighting and put all his energy into getting into the same school his brother goes to. But when an accident occurs that rocks Hiro’s life forever, he stumbles across his brother’s invention Baymax, and together, they set out to find what really caused the accident.

I hesitate to mention too much of the plot, unlike certain trailers that may give an important aspect away. I walked into the film knowing the fate of a certain character, but they build the connection with that character so strongly that when that thing does happen, it’s heartwrenching and awful.

Speaking of characters, they were amazing. As mentioned earlier, BH6 has people of all ethnicities working together to save the world, and they are only defined by their desire to help Hiro and their passion for sciences. After feeling disappointed about how white and male Interstellar was in my last review, this was a welcome change.

It would be impossible to say which character was my favorite. Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) acts like any teenager with too much knowledge would, and even when he overreacts and almost gets people hurt, you can tell its from childish innocence and desperation as opposed to straight malice. Tadashi Hamada (Daniel Henney) is a mix of a great mentor, and you can tell from his frustration that he really does care for his brother. The rest of the team, Fred (TJ Miller), GoGO Tomago (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans, Jr) and Honey Lemon (Génesis Rodríguez) are delightful. They’re a wonderful mix of characters that range from incredibly excited for an opportunity to save the world, to being the straight man and wondering aloud how any of this is possible. They build a strong team for Hiro to fight alongside.

Hiro & Baymax | Image courtesy of Walt Disney Animation

Baymax (Scott Adsit), the titular character for this film’s release in Japan, of course, stole the show. He’s both lovable and squishy, and you just want to reach into the screen and hug him. Programmed by Tadashi to be a health care companion, his main focus towards Hiro is making sure he’s in a good frame of mind, regardless to what situation it may put Baymax in. Watching the relationship grow between them and watching Baymax slowly learn to understand human customs tugged at many a heartstring in my theater. Although he may look it, he is much more than a mascot character and is truly the heart of the team.

This story is both fun for children and adults, young and old. Whether you’re excited about another superhero movie (and glad that there’s slightly a twist towards the formula), you’re just looking for an action/adventure film, or you want to see how incredibly smart robotics kids when there’s the opportunity to build a superhero team, definitely check this out. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll wish you had your own Baymax laying around.

ALSO! Make sure to stick around for the after credits scene! It rounds out a joke from earlier in the film.

Big Hero 6 was released on Friday, November 7th, 2014. Run time is 102 minutes.